The present invention relates to combining a radio frequency card and a laser optical memory card that conforms to industry size and performance standards and conventions and that have a superior outer surface to known RFID cards such that card may receive dye sublimation printing and laser optical memory stripe.
As the use of plastic cards for credit cards, automated teller machine (ATM) cards, identification cards, and like continues to become more widespread, the problems associated with the use of such cards correspondingly increase. Credit card fraud and identification card fraud are becoming larger problems everyday, and this fraud has introduced uncertainties into our systems of commerce and our security systems. Using easily available technology, criminals are able to manufacture credit/debit cards, ATM cards, identification cards, and the like having another""s account code, identification code, or other personal information embedded in the magnetic stripe thereof. Thus, for example, criminals may steal hundreds or thousands of legitimate credit card account numbers and manufacture many additional cards bearing the stolen information. These fraudulent cards are then usable by the criminals to purchase goods and to receive cash with the legitimate card holder and the card issuer left holding the bill. Likewise, so called debit cards are becoming increasingly popular. These cards have stored thereon a certain amount of value for which the card owner has previously paid. For example, a subway rider may purchase a card good for 50 fares, with one fare being deducted from the card each time the owner rides the subway. Criminals have also been able to manipulate the data stored on these cards to defraud the merchants and others.
The ease in which criminals have been able to manufacture and or manipulate known cards results from the existence of the easily altered magnetic strip storage medium used by known cards. These magnetic stripes are easily programmed and reprogrammed using commonly available technology. Thus, there has been found a need in the plastic card industry to provide a more secure plastic card that is very difficult or impossible to fraudulently manipulate. The most likely solution to the above-noted problems associated with known plastic cards is the RFID card and other cards including computer chips embedded therein rather than, or in addition to, a magnetic stripe. While these RFID cards and like have been found to be successful in preventing or limiting fraud, they are more difficult and expensive to manufacture relative to ordinary magnetic stripe cards. One of the biggest obstacles to the wide spread manufacture and use of RFID cards has been the inability of card manufacturers to manufacture an RFID card that meets all industry standards and specifications, such as those set by the International Standards Organization (ISO), that are sufficiently aesthetically pleasing (wherein the embedded electronics are hidden from view), and that have a sufficiently regular or flat surface such that one or both surfaces of the card may be printed on using the very popular and widespread dye sublimation technology. Known plastic cards with computer chips and like embedded therein are too thick to work in connection with existing card reading machinery (ATM machines, telephones, and like) and have a surface that is too irregular to properly and consistently receive dye sublimation printing. Furthermore, prior attempts to manufacture a sufficiently thin plastic card including a computer chip embedded therein have results of a card with inferior aesthetic qualities such as the ability to see the embedded computer chip through the plastic.
There are several lamination methods in the plastic card industry, such as:
1. Hot and cold using a platen laminator with controlled hydraulic ram pressure.
2. Hot and cold roll laminators.
3. Lamination using adhesives cured by ultra violet radiation, electron beam radiation, or cold roll on contact adhesive.
This invention requires a combination of several lamination processes to manufacture a Hybrid/Contactless Smart and Laser Optical Card.
The present invention is therefore directed to a hot lamination method for the manufacture of plastic cards including an electronic computer chip therein. The hot lamination method comprises the steps of providing first and second plastic core sheets, positioning at least one or more electronic elements between the first and second core sheets to thus form a core, and placing the core in a laminator and closing the laminator without applying pressure to the substrates. A heat cycle is applied to the core sheets in the laminator, thus liquefying the sheets and the laminator ram pressure is then increased in combination with the heat. A cooling cycle is then applied to the core in the laminator, preferably with an associated increase in ram pressure, and the core is removed from the laminator. At least one or more surface of the core is then printed on using a printing press or similar printing apparatus to print the cutting marks on the substrate for the purpose of cutting the cards of the finished step and also permit the cutting of the sheets into strips containing one or more of the electronics. At this point of the process the sheets can then be overlaminated with an overlaminate film and placed in a laminator and complete the second lamination process, thus giving a smoothness of 0.0005 inches and a combined card thickness of between 0.028 inches to 0.033 inches. These sheets can then be cut into strips and the strips can be welded together via means of ultrasonic welding, chemical adhesive or hot melt glue, thus forming a continuous web to be used in the process of manufacturing an optical memory cards. This would complete a laminated card prepared for the application of an optical memory stripe.
The present invention provides numerous advantages over known card manufacturing processes, including the formation of a plastic card with electronic elements such as a computer chip embedded therein with a pleasing aesthetic appearance, with a sufficiently smooth and regular surface such as the card may receive a optical memory stripe and dye sublimation printing with sufficient durability and characteristics to comply with all industry specifications and standards.